GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Friday approved the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use — the first Chinese jab to receive the WHO’s green light.
The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in dozens of countries around the world.
The WHO has already given emergency use listing to the vaccines being made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, and the AstraZeneca jab being produced at separate sites in India and in South Korea.
“This afternoon, WHO gave emergency use listing to Sinopharm Beijing’s COVID-19 vaccine, making it the sixth vaccine to receive WHO validation for safety, efficacy and quality,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
“The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, or SAGE, has also reviewed the available data, and recommends the vaccine for adults 18 years and older, with a two-dose schedule.”
An emergency use listing by the WHO paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly approve and import a vaccine for distribution, especially those states without an international-standard regulator of their own.
It also opens the door for the jabs to enter the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, which aims to provide equitable access to doses around the world and particularly in poorer countries.
The Sinopharm vaccine is already in use in 42 territories around the world, fourth behind AstraZeneca (166), Pfizer-BioNTech (94) and Moderna (46), according to an AFP tally.
Besides China, it is being used in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Seychelles, among others.
A clutch of other vaccines are on the road toward WHO emergency use listing, including a second Sinopharm product being made in Wuhan — the city where coronavirus was first detected.
A decision is expected within days on Sinovac, a second Chinese-made vaccine already being used in 22 countries.
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is the next furthest ahead in the process.
WHO approves China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
https://arab.news/g7ytz
WHO approves China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
- Sinopharm is the sixth vaccine to receive the World Health Organization’s validation for safety, efficacy and quality
- WHO is also evaluating China’s Sinovac COVID-19 shots and a decision on that is expected with the next few days
Pakistan military says 13 militants killed in counterterror operations across northwest
- Military says counterterror operations launched in Bajaur, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber and South Waziristan districts
- The counterterror operations take place as Afghanistan and Pakistan remain locked in conflict since late last month
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces this week killed 13 militants in five separate counterterror operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military’s media wing said on Sunday, vowing to eliminate militancy from the country.
The counterterror operations were conducted on Mar. 6-7, with Pakistani troops killing five militants in the northwestern Bajaur district in the first operation. In two other encounters in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan district, security forces killed three militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
Meanwhile, five other militants were killed in two separate counterterror operations in Khyber and South Waziristan districts in which five more militants were slain.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from Indian-sponsored killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan’s military frequently uses the term “Fitna al Khwarij” to describe TTP militants. The militant outfit has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces since 2007 in a bid to impose their strict brand of Islamic law across the country.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the TTP and facilitating their attacks against Pakistan, a charge Kabul has denied. Pakistan also accuses India of supporting these militant groups, which New Delhi has repeatedly rejected.
The counterterror operations take place as Pakistan remains locked in conflict with Afghanistan since late February.
The worst fighting between the two sides began late last month when Afghan forces launched a surprise attack on Pakistani military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said the assault was in retaliation for Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes in February on what Islamabad described as militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday that Islamabad has killed 527 Afghan Taliban fighters and injured more than 755 since clashes began.
Afghanistan has also claimed attacking multiple Pakistani military bases and killing several Pakistani soldiers. Arab News has not independently verified the claims by both sides.
Pakistan has ruled out talks with Afghanistan and said it will continue its military operations in the country till it withdraws support for militant groups that Islamabad says operate from Afghanistan.
